Slings, Arrows, and Home for Dinner

When asked about Sharpridge Capital, the investment firm he
cofounded, Rick Cleary speaks not about himself, but about the
strength of his rope team — the interconnected relationships that enable
his firm to navigate through what he terms “the slings and arrows
part of the economic cycle.”

Sharpridge, the manager for Cypress Sharpridge Investments
(CYS), a mortgage REIT, invests in whole-pool residential mortgage
securities guaranteed
by Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac, and
Ginnie Mae, and
generates income
from the spread
between interest
income it receives
and its borrowing
costs. After a
successful private equity offering in early 2006, the firm was off to the races. However,
by late 2007, the deflating housing market had dramatically changed
the economic and financial landscapes.

His faith in the rope team has paid off. Sharpridge now employs
11 professionals and manages approximately $1.8 billion in assets.
Last June, CYS completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
Cleary concedes that the markets aren’t out of “Lewis and Clark”
territory, but credits his wife, Alicia (MRP ’98), and daughters, Olivia
and Amelia, with his success. “We have one unbreakable rule: home
for dinner.”